Combination folding door and guide means therefor



4, 1962 J. SCHWARTZBERG I COMBINATION FOLDING DOOR AND GUIDE MEANSTHEREFOR Filed Dec. 3. 1959 a 5% z 4 7 5 0 0 y g I 1 I Z M T3 T2 w. w mo J \2 V H T3 T2 m 5 50 52 5 11 INVENTOR.

J k sc/m aflzzberzg Man/7, L i ddy Daniels 5 Marc/2 ATTORNEYS limitedStates Patent @ifice 3,055,?30 Fatented Dec. 4, 1952 3,066,730COMBINATION FOLDING DOOR AND GUIDE MEANS THEREFOR Jack Schwartzberg,6547 165th St, Flushing, NY.

' Filed Dec. 3, 1959, Ser. No. 857,047

1 Claim. (Cl. 160-206) This invention relates generally to foldingdoors, and more particularly to the combination of a folding door andguide means operable to control the opening and closing movements of thedoor.

An object of the invention is to provide a novel and improvedcombination folding door and guide means therefor wherein a smooth andeasy action of the door is effected, both during the opening and closingmovements thereof.

Another object of the invention is to provide an improved combinationfolding door and guide means as above, wherein the door when in thefolded or open position is disposed substantially wholly to one side ofthe doorway and at right angles to the plane of the opening thereof, andfurther is disposed wholly outside of the said opening.

An additional object of the invention is to provide an improvedcombination folding door and guide means as above characterized, whichis rugged and reliable in operation while at the same time of extremelysimple construction involving relatively few components, thereby to makepossible not only an eminently satisfactory product but also a lowfabrication or manufacturing cost.

Still another object of the invention is to provide an improved door andguide in accordance with the foregoing, wherein the guide portion isrelatively small and compact, especially unobtrusive, and requires butlittle space at the door frame.

A feature of the invention resides in the provision of a novel foldingdoor and guide means wherein swinging movements of the door panels arenormally prevented by the guide means both for the fully opened andfully closed door positions.

Another feature of the invention resides in the provision of an improveddoor guide means and folding door combination as above, which whilepreventing swinging movement of the open or closed door panels at thesame time enables the panels to be easily moved in the directionsrequired for operating the doors.

Yet another feature of the invention resides in the provision of animproved combination folding door and guide means wherein an adjustablestop is provided in conjunction with the guide to prevent undesiredshifting and opening movement of the closed door, the adjustabilityenabling small variations of dimensions to be taken care of duringinstallation.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the drawings accompanying this specification similar characters ofreference have been used to designate like components throughout theseveral views in which:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a combination folding door andguide means therefor, as provided by the invention.

FIG. 2 is a horizontal section taken on the line 2-2 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line '3-3 of FIG. 1, theopen position of the door cated by dotted outlines.

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view, taken on the line 44 ofFIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary inside elevational view, looking in thedirection of the arrows 5-5' of PEG. 3.

FIG. 6 is a detail showing a pivoted arm construction carried by one ofthe door panels of FIGS. 1-4.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view similar to that of FIG.4 but showing a modification of the invention.

Referring first to FIGS. 1-4 there is illustrated a door framecomprising jambs or side frame members 10, ll joined to the ends of atop frame member 1'2 in any suitable manner. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3the door jambs l0, 11 may have stop strips 14 and 15 respectively,arranged for engagement with the folding door panels. Suitable moldings1'7 may be provided, to finish off the door frame as will be readilyunderstood.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a novel andimproved combination folding door structure and guide means thereforhaving a number of desirable features and advantages. The combinationdoor and guide means is extremely simple in its construction, andinvolves relatively few parts which may be economically fabricated andproduced. Moreover, the construction is such that the folding door maybe readily operated for either opening or closing the door panels, yetthe panels when in opened and closed positions are restrained fromhaving undesired swinging or shifting movement, being maintainedrespectively substantially perpendicular to the door opening or elsecompletely spanning the said opening within the frame members 10, litand 12. Moreover, the opening and closing action of the door panels issmooth and easy, and the door operation may be readily accomplished bygrasping a single door knob and applying suitably directed forcethereto. Also, the door panels when opened provide the maximum degree ofaccess to the space between the door frames, and occupy relativelylittle room. The guide means is compact, small and unobtrusive, beingnormally not readily noticed.

Accordingly, as seen in FIGS. 1-3, the invention provides a pair of doorpanels 20, 21, which are hingediy secured together as by suitable hingefittings 23 of the butt type. The door panel 20, in accordance with theinvention, is associated with a novel guide means, and the controlledaction of such door panel is thus transmit-ed to the second door panel21 which latter is hingedly secured to the jamb or frame member 10, asseen in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3.

In accordance with the invention, the second door panel 21 may behingedly hung on the jamb 10 by the cuspanel being inditomary butt-typehinges, two such hinges being shown and indicated at 25. Acharacteristic of such hinges is that the axis is disposed adjacent anedge of the door jamb or frame member. For example, as seen in FIG. 2,

the pivotal axes of the hinges 25 are disposed at a point outside of theframe member or jamb 10, such point being spaced a substantial distancefrom the center of the jamb and permitting the panel 21 when closed tooccupy the space between the door stop 14 of the jamb and the pivot pinsof the hinges 25. With such construction, as

-' illustrated in FIG. 3, the door panel 21 when swung open at) at aright angle will be disposed entirely out of the space located betweenthe two upright jambs 16, 11.

Also, in accordance with the invention, the door panels 2%, 21 arepreferably so pivotally connected by the hinges 23 that they may beswung back-to-back in closely juxtaposed open positions, as seen in FIG.3 and indicated in dotted outline.

For such positions, and also for the fully closed positions shown infull lines, the improved guide means of the invention will exert adesirable control over the door panels and prevent undesired swingingmovement of the same. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the hinge means 23permit the panels Ztl, 21 when in their closed positions to lie in acommon plane. For actuating the doors, either to open or close them, anysuitable type of door knob 28 may be provided on the door panel 29.,

in accordance with the invention, in conjunction with the folding doorpanels 2t), 21 there is provided a novel guide means by which there isnot only effected a desirable control of the movements of the door butat the same time the operation of the door is made smooth and easy. Thesaid guide means comprises an elongate track 36*, which in theillustrated embodiment of the invention shown in FIGS. l-6 comprises achannel-section metal strip 32, the said strip being secured to a doorstop 33 on the upper frame member 212, as by the screws illustrated inPEG. 4. The guide channel 32 may extend between the door stops 14 and1'5 of the jambs ill, 11 as seen in PEG. 3, and may be flush at one sidewith the door stop 33 of the upper frame member 12. Thus, the channel3?, also constitutes a stop means for the two door panels Ztl, 21.

Further, in accordance with the invention, the door panel Bil isprovided with a novel pivoted-arm type of control, arranged to engageand slide along the track 36 comprising an angular piece of heavy wire35, said wire having a bearing portion 35 and an arm portion 3'7 and thelatter being provided with a slide member 38 which is spaced from thebearing portion 36 and is engageable with and shiftable along the track30 within the space between the opposite sides of the channel 32. Theslide member may be advantageously constituted as a roller, as shown,'to provide for easy sliding or rolling movement along the track member32. Further, the pivoted-arm control comprises a pivot fitting 40 havingan offset bearing portion 4.2 receiving and engaging the bearing portion36 of the wire piece 353. The pivot fitting 4G is secured to the uppercorner portion of the door panel 2t by suitable screws d-d, and asprovided by the invention has slots 46 through which the screws 44 pass,thereby to enable the pivot fitting 46 to be adjusted vertically duringinstallation of the door and guide means.

By the provision of the novel pivotal-arm type control on the door panel20 there is exercised a desirable control over the movement of thetwo-panel door.

Referring to FIG. 3 it will be seen that when the panels 20, 2d are intheir extended positions closing or spanning the opening of the doorframe, the pivot arm 37 will be disposed closely adjacent and virtuallyfiat against the inside surface of the door panel 20. When the panels2%, 21 are operated in opening direction, the portions joined togetherby the hinges 23 will swing outward or upward as seen in FIG. 2(downward as seen in FIG. 3), and the control arm 35"! will graduallyswing away from the panel 26 until, as shown by the dotted outlines inFIG. 3 the arm 37 lies virtually parallel to the two panels 20, 21 whichare also substantially parallel to each other. When in the dotted linepositions of FIG. 3 the panels Zll, 21 will be prevented from swingingas a unit about the axes of the hinges 25 by virtue of the control arm37 being restrained by the channel track 32.

In accordance with the invention a stop member is adjustably positionedin the track 32, being secured therein by a screw 52 passing through aslot 53 provided angle-section strip 55 which in the channel. The stop5i) is adapted to engage the slide member 3% when the door panels 20, 2dare closed as shown in FIG. 3, and the presence of such stop preventsthe panels from swinging outward as a unit (while aligned with eachother in the same plane) about the pivotal axis provided by the hingefittings 25. Thus, for the open and closed positions of the door panelsthe control arm 37 exerts a restraint on the panels, preventingundesired movement thereof. Yet, when the knob 28 is grasped and pulledor urged in the proper direction the panels Zn, 2.1 may be readilyopened or closed and the smooth and easy movement of such panels isassured by the guide 30 and control arm '35.

It will be noted that the door panel 21 functions as a hinged linkagemeans for mounting the first door panel 2t? on the door frame member orjamb 1%, such linkage means enabling the panel 2t) to be moved close toand away from the frame member 1t} and to be turned simultaneously withsuch movement.

A modification of the invention is illustrated in FIG. 7, wherein thechannel-section track 32 is replaced by an acts in conjunction with theframe member 12 to form a track for the control arm 37. Also, as seen inPEG. 7, the roller 38 may be dispensed with and instead the upturned endof the arm 37 may constitute the slide member which moves along thetrack formed between the stop 33 and the angle member 55.

It will now be understood from the foregoing description that I haveprovided a novel and improved combination folding door and guide meanswhich restrains latter undesired movement of the door panels while atthe same time enabling the same to be easily and smoothly shiftedbetween their open and closed positions. The components involved areseen to be simple in construction, and may be economically fabricated.Moreover, the installation of the door panels and guide means may beeasily and quickly door step 33 of the upper i effected.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claimand portions of the improvement may be used without others.

I claim:

In combination:

(a) a door frame including a pair of vertically disposed spaced framemembers,

(b) a horizontally disposed frame member connected to the top andextending between said vertical frame members to define an opening,

(0) a stop strip connected to each of said frame members for extendingabout said opening,

(d) a plurality of folding door panels including a first panel and asecond panel for spanning said opening,

(e) means for hingedly connecting each of said door panels in abuttingend to end relationship,

(f) a butt type hinge for connecting said first door panel to one ofsaid frame members,

(g) said butt type hinge having a pivot pin spaced from the stop stripof adjacent vertical frame member outwardly of said opening so that inthe closed position said first door panel occupies the space between thestop strip and said hinge pin,

(11) means forming a downwardly open track connected to and extendedalong said top frame member between said pair of spaced vertical framemembers,

(1) a control arm having an intermediate horizontally disposed legportion, a depending leg portion connected to one end of said horizontalleg portion, and an upright leg portion connected to the other end ofsaid horizontal leg portion,

(j) means for pivotally mounting the depending leg portion of saidcontrol arm to said second door panel, said means including a fittinghaving an offset bearing portion for receiving said depending legportion, and

means for rendering said fitting vertically adjustable,

(k) said upright leg portion being disposed so as to be plane in theclosed position and whereby only the received in and movable along saidtrack, a roller initial closing force is required to align said panelsrotatably journaled on said upright leg portion, said in the same planeto insure closing of said opening. roller being in engagement with saidtrack, said control arm and roller connected thereto being disposed 5References Cited in the file of this patent closely adjacent andsubstantially parallel the con- UNITED STATES PATENTS nected door panelin the closed position thereof,

(l) and rigid stop means including an abutment fixed 527,470 WflbPr 1894in said track so as to render said abutment immovable 1,49 9,312 FernsJune 1924 relative to said track and arranged to engage said 10 1581854a 1926 control arm within said track to prohibit the con- 3 Gnnstead1943 neeted panels from swinging outwardly as a unit 2,882,962Hollansworth 1959 when said panels are substantially aligned in the same2,943,675 Ford July 1960

